College of Charleston women first, men second at Will Wilson/Citadel Invitational

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's and women's cross country teams had many runners close to the pack of leaders as the women were victorious and men finished runner-up in the Will Wilson/Citadel Invitational Saturday at James Island County Park. Sophomore Dena O'Brien won the individual champion in the women's race.

O'Brien led most of the whole race and was part of a group of six CofC runners who finished in the top-10 as she finished first in 18:13 for the 5K race, nearly 36 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

Joining O'Brien in the top-10 were Kristen Wolfe (3^rd, 19:21), McKenna Nokes (5^th, 19:49), Hayley McMahon (7^th, 19:50), Danielle Sams (9^th, 19:56), and Callen Powers (10^th, 19:57). Tierney Willard, Danielle Hobbs, Dana Walsh and Elle Brewer, Allie Kowolenko and Rosemary Dungan finished in the top-25 for the Cougars.

The women finished with 25 points, 20 points ahead of second-place finisher Winthrop who finished with 45 points. The Citadel was third with 83 points.

On the men's side Ross Ochs finished third in 27:27 for the 8K race. Also in the top-10 were David Lamberson (6^th, 27:41) and Andrew Nelson (7^th, 27:46). The men finished with 45 points, just five points behind Winthrop.

The Citadel men, women third at Will Wilson/Citadel Invitational

Charleston, S.C. - Junior Austin Waldrop (27:29, fifth place) and sophomore Danielle McKee (19:52, eighth place) led the Bulldog men and women's cross country teams to third place finishes in Saturday's 31^st-annual Will Wilson Citadel Invitational held at James Island County Park.

The men's team kicked off the meet with an 8k race and finished strong, recording three top-15 finishers. Waldrop led all Bulldogs for the second consecutive race. Junior Kyle Keene, who sat out the last two races with an injury, came back strong, recording a time of 28:06 to land him in 11^th place. Freshmen Raeven Lantz (28:35, 14^th place), Atom Young (28:45, 17^th place) and PJ Wasilchak (28:52, 18^th place) rounded out the top-5 for the men.

Sophomore Danielle McKee continued to lead her squad to the finish line as the highest placing Bulldog with an eighth place finish. Behind McKee was freshman Emily Fields (21:01) and sophomore Christina Shonbeck (21:09), who finished seconds apart to place 21^st and 22^nd, respectively.

The individual crown on the men's side was awarded to Savannah State's Rueben Israel-McBee who recorded a time of 27: 08. College of Charleston's Dena O'Brien captured her second consecutive individual crown at The Citadel Invitational, recording a time 18:13.

The Cougar women's team won the team trophy for the race recording an average race time of 19:26, while the Winthrop Eagles topped the men's standings with an average time of 28:01 per runner.